Star Wars Episode XIII: The Centred Jedi
by CabbageMuncher
Summary: Taking place directly after the events of The Force Awakens, this novel presents a different journey for the beloved characters of the Star Wars universe - one entirely different from that of the Last Jedi.
1. The Storm Yet to Come

The figure before Rey stood, a stark white slash in the mellow sky of Ahch-To. Rey approached him with care, her footing light and unobtrusive - even from this distance, she could feel the power that ebbed from him. It seeped into every part of her being, intoxicating, blinding and, above all, terrifying . She could feel these tendrils of energy - of light - reaching and mingling with her own, the part of her being that had only just been awakened that fateful night on Starkiller again, her eyes pored over the figure that stood like an alabaster statue, his eyes fixed on the horizon in front of Rey.

Despite the soft treading of her feet on the peaty ground, the subtle motions of the figure's hood informed Rey that the man in front of her was already aware of her. A pent up breath escaped her trembling lips, ragged and full of the anxiety.

Before her stood the man that could change everything.

Immediately, doubts swelled within the young girls mind - the vicious sea winds that tore at her earth-brown hair mirrored the turmoil within her brain. A sudden urge became her, not one of hope, but one of rage.

If this man was not Luke Skywalker, all would be lost to the looming jaws of the First Order. The images of the fiery jihad she had seen within her visions replayed within her mind; the First Order flag razing the galaxy, wielding its nameless authority, screaming of bloody Babylons and sin - and spinning all of this into a false paradise. All of this yet again flickered before her eyes; sleep had evaded her on the homely enfolds of the Falcon. When her eyes closed the dead came back to her, muttering death unto the young girls ears. Those yet to be dead appeared too, thousands of them, praying for her to save them. And however much the girl kicked and screamed and tore at her eyes, she could not remove the images that had been thrust upon her, the recurring nightmare that had driven her to find the Jedi master that now stood before her-

— _mist. it permeates the air, its milky tendrils grasping at my voice box. the three moons illuminate the ground of scarlet grass. the grass is blood, covered in pools of red. it invades my nostrils, acrid and vile and burning like a_ —

Again. Her breathing is rapid and irregular, the sharp intakes of air stabbing at her throat. Rey's eyes glazed over and her iron resolve yet again engulfed her. This man will be our saviour - he will avert the vision, he will destroy the First Order. Once she had centred herself, she allowed her gaze to come to rest on the figure in the middle distance.

His eyes bore into her, the colour of the storm yet to come.


	2. A Neon Tunnel

For Finn the world was bathed in colours - neon streams that were fed into his body, probably through a mundane looking tube. Though his head was sharp and unclouded by whatever state he was currently in, he had no control whatsoever over his body. He couldn't even feel it - he felt as though he were a head drifting through a coloured void.

He tapped into the section of his mind he had cordoned off since his escape from the First Order. His stormtrooper conditioning told him that this world of meandering hues in which he currently resided must be some sort of drug induced coma keeping him alive whilst- whilst what? What happened on Starkiller base and how was he not dead?

Every time he assessed his current situation, he came to a crossroads. Option 1: he was somewhere safe - otherwise he wouldn't be alive. Hopefully he was with the Resistance, but in his current state he wasn't going to complain if he was in a shack on Subterrel. Option 2: he was back in the clutches of the First Order, in stormtrooper reconditioning; he could not do that. The sense of helplessness was overpowering - he truly was at the whim of whoever was keeping him alive.

Finn allowed his thoughts to become lucid and regular, slowly the pent up fear began to seep from his mind and rationality took its place. He began to feel a sense of pride for how he had acted on Starkiller base. After all, he had survived a bout with the most powerful Force wielder in the galaxy in one on one lightsaber combat - even challenged him on various occasions. Not many could say that. Yet, whatever injury Kylo Ren had bestowed upon him with his crackling lightsaber was yet to be seen - the memory of the torrent of pain that rippled through his body in those final moments of consciousness were all that he had to go on when guessing. All Finn could do was speculate.

Time had begun to lose its tangibility, there was nothing to distinguish the seconds passing and Finn had no way of occupying himself other than poring over what could have happened after his loss of consciousness. Was the First Order destroyed? What about Ren, was he still alive?

How many more had died?

But in the front of his mind was Rey. He thought of her now, picturing her ragged clothes, devilish smile and intricately tied hair. How was it possible that he had developed such a bond with her in such a small amount of time? He cared about her, missed her even now - and above all was worried about her. She was left on Starkiller base, in the ravenous snow and biting cold, unconscious, with a merciless lord of the darkness bearing down upon her. Was it too early to give up hope? If Rey was indeed gone, would he ever feel the way he did with her again? No, there is hope for her - if Finn was alive, then there was an equal chance she would be.

Finn clung to this thought like the final recollections of a long forgotten dream. Allowing his mind to wander the canyons of this fluorescent tunnel, Finn's consciousness was nothing more than a faintly pulsing orb. In this sleep of death, he allowed the past to be woven into liturgies of ruin within his racing mind and prayed for the safety of that scavenger girl.


End file.
